Student Protests With No Consequences

All week long, students in Virginia and now in Maryland, protested a House of Representatives bill that would make illegal immigration a felony--at least obstensibly.

While I have no doubts that some students involved in these protests are very well informed on the issue, the interviews I have seen on news programs, the students are simply taking advantage of a quasi-sanctioned walk-out.

But Arlington students said many faculty members were supportive. "On Tuesday [when a similar march took place] one of our vice principals said that he was really proud of us," said Elizabeth Raftery, 18, a senior at Wakefield High School.

And at Montgomery County's Einstein, one student reported that many teachers left their classrooms and clapped to show support.

In a letter to parents yesterday, Arlington School Superintendent Robert G. Smith said that "demonstrations regarding civic issues represent a longstanding tradition in our democratic society," but encouraged students to protest outside school hours. Protests were planned today by students from other Northern Virginia schools.

In Arlington, more than 100 police officers from Arlington, the Pentagon, Fairfax County and the state watched over the march, said Arlington police spokesman Matt Martin, adding that the hour-long protest was peaceful. Afterward, students were ferried back to their schools in buses sent by their districts.(emphasis added)

It is all well and good that students are exercising their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble. It is another for them to shirk their duties to do so. Furthermore, the school systems, by providing buses to ferry students back to school are enabling class ditching. I for one would be extremely upset if my tax dollars were being spent in this manner. by enabling the students, the school systems cannot hold students accountable for their actions of ditching class.

I wonder how mnay protests will be occuring on Friday night, or any time this weekend. My guess is none because that would mean giving up personal time, rather than the school's time, to protest something that most students probably don't have a good grasp of, but protest nonetheless because it is a way of getting out of school free.

The local school systems should be assessing unexcused absences at the minimum and suspensions for organizers should be in the works as well. But in some jurisdictions, such consequences for shirking the duties of being a student are not likely to come down--that would be very un-PC of the schools.

Update: CNN is reporting Los Angeles County Schools are starting to enforce the truancy rules.